Telegraph circuits and apparatus.



I w. M. BRUCE, JR- TELEGRAPH CIRCUITS AND APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 26, 19l5.'

Patented Oct 10,1916

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W.'M. BRUCE, JR. TELEGRAPH CIRCUITS AND APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 26,1915.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

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APPLICATION FILED APR. 26.1915.

Patnt ed Oct. 10. 1916. 4 S HEETSSHEET 4.

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WILLIAM M. BRUCE, JR., 0F SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

TELEGRAPH CIRCUITS AND APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

Application filed April 26, 1915. Serial N 0. 23,874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. BRUCE, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telegraph Circuits and Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in circuits and apparatus for use in telegraphy and especially for sending telegraphic signals over conductors of high resistance and capacity, such as submarine cables.

A special object of my invention is to provide circuits and apparatus by means of which signals of different duration may be impressed upon a high resistance conductor and received at the other end Without distortion due to the capacity or resistance of the cable so that dots and dashes of the ordinary telegraph code can be employed on such conductors and received on the ordinary receiving instrument such as relays and sounders as is now employed in land lines. I

My invention consists of the circuits and apparatus and parts as hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

I have demonstrated that if impulses of" diiferent polarities are impressed upon a cable under uniform conditions, they will be received at the other end in the same manner they are impressed, providing the impulses of opposite polarity are so impressed on the cable or conductor as to produce the same rise of potential in the conductor for each impulse, and that if they are not so impressed as to produce the same rise in potential, the impulses or some of them may be distorted so that under certain conditions it will be impossible to determine whether a long or short character is employed and also it will be impossible in all cases to get the exact spacing between letters or words. I have also discovered that it is essential that the cable conditions must be the same as to charge and discharge at each impulse and that under ordinary conditions of impressing characters at intervals, cable conditions will not be the same when impulses are following each other in fairly rapid succession when the cable does not have an opportunity to be completely discharged between impulses as when they succeed each other at longer intervals or at such intervals as will permitthe cable to be completely discharged between impulses. I have, therefore, de vised means and apparatus for impressing on the cable impulses of opposite polarity at the beginning and end of each character whether long or short and have constructed the circuits and apparatus in such a manner that the same rise of potential will be produced in the cable for each impulse of either polarity. I have also provided means for correcting the cable conditions or compensating for the different conditions by reason of the cable being completely or only partly discharged after each impulse so as not to effect the proper transmission and receiving of the signals. I accomplish these results by the circuit and apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a diagram view of a circuit and apparatus reduced to a. simple form for impressing impulses of difl'erent polarity on a conductor of high capacity and resistance from an ordinary telegraph key, the construction and arrangement being such that an impulse on one polarity will be impressed upon the conductor at the beginning of the character and an impulse of opposite polarity at the end of the character, and the impulses will produce the same rise in potential of either polarity in the cable without reference to the time interval of the character itself or as to the time the key or other sending device is held closed. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing in addition to the circuits of Fig. 1, means for compensating for diifer- .ent conditions in the cable by reason of its full or partial discharge after each impulse arising from the time interval of impressing the impulses, that is, whether in quick or slow succession. Figs. 3, 4i and 5 are views of a form of relay shown in diagram in Figs. 1 and 2, Fig. 3 being a plan view, Fig. a front elevation, Fig. 5 a sectional elevation and Fig. 6 a rear elevation of the same.

Like parts are represented by similar characters of reference in the several views.

In said drawings, and referring particularly to Fig. 1, (t represents a movable contacting device adapted to make and break electrical connections at the contacts a and a This contacting device a is shown in the present instance as the armature of a relay k), which is in circuit with an ordinary telegraph key 70 and a battery 7: whereby, when the local circuit from battery 7: is closed and opened at the key is the relay k will be ene g d de re g zed and thus op r te ting relay Z) and to ground at g.

the contacting armature a between the contacts a and (L This contacting device a; is connected by wire 1 to a polarized relay Z) which I term the transmitting relay and thence to ground at 9. Contact a is connected by wire 3 to the negative pole of the battery 13. It is also connected by wire 2 to a contact Z) on the polarized relay 7). The other contact a is connected by wires 4 and 5 to the opposite pole of the battery B and by wire 6 to a contact 6 on the transmitting relay 6. The armature b of the polarized relay 1) which plays between the contacts 6 and b is connected by wire 7 to the cable or conductor, upon which the impulses are to be impressed. It is also connected by branch wire 8 to a polarized relay 0 and thence by wire 9, preferably through inductive resistance r, to ground at 9 This relay 0 has an armature c whiehplays between contacts 0 and c and these contacts 0 and 0" are connected to the respective poles of the battery by branch wires 3 and 5,

connected respectively to the wires 3 and 5;

the armature c of this relay being connected to ground at 9 This relay 0 I call the cutoff relay.

lVith the apparatus in the normal position shown in Fig. 1, with the local circuit from battery lr" open at key it, the contacting armature a will rest against the back contact a the armature b of the relay 6 will rest in contact with its contact 6 and the ground armature c of the cut-off relay 0 on its contact 0 no current can flow from the battery B because the circuit from its positive pole will be open at contacts a Z2 and 0 and if now the contacting armature a were moved to the contact a by closing the key and energizing the relay 70 or otherwise the circuit could be traced from the positive pole of the battery B through wires 5 and 4., contact a thence through the contacting device a to the transmit- This would send a positive impulse from the battery B through the transmitting relay 6 which would cause its armature Z) to move to the contact b and in so doing it closes the circuit from the positive side of the battery B through wires 5 and 6, contact 5 armature b and wire 7 to the conductor or cable and by branch wire 8 to the cut-off relay 0 and thence by wire 9 and resistance 1" to ground at 9 The cutoff relay 0 is arranged either by the inductive resistance or otherwise so asibe operated slightly after the contact is made at b and when so operated it moves its armature 0 from contact 0 to contact 0 thus removing ground from. the negative side of the battery and applying through wires 5, 6 and 7 and also cuts off the" supply of current to itself through branch wire 8 and also cuts off the supply of current to the transmitting relay Z) through wires 4, contacts a, and a and wire 1, since all of these connections are made to the positive side of the battery and the grounding of this pole of the battery, and removing the ground from the negative pole cuts off the supplyof current to all of these devices, and this is done regardless of whether the contacting device a remains engaged with the contact a or not and hence regardless of the position of the key 70. When the key It" is moved to break the local circuit and thus cause the contacting armature a: to move from contact a to contact 60 a negative impulse will be sent from battery B to the transmitting relay Z) over the circuit which may be traced from ground 9 armature 0 contact 0 wires 5 and 5 to the positive side of the battery, thence by wire 3 to contact a armature a, 'wire 1, relay 6 and to ground at g. This sends a negative impulse to the transmitting relay Z) which causes its armature Z2 to engage contact 6 and thus send a negative impulse over the branch line 2, to contact 6 armature Z), wire 7 to cable or conductor and by branch wire 8 to the polarized cut-01f relay, causing said relay to cut-0H the supply of current to the conductor and to the transmitting relay by shifting its armature from the posi tive side of the battery to the negative side of the battery or to the normal position shown in Fig. 1. The cut-off relay 0 being so adjusted as to operate at a certain definite time interval after the transmitting relay Z) operates, animpulse of one polarity will be impressed upon the cable for a certain definite length of time at the beginning of a character, which will be followed by a similar impulse of the opposite polarity but for the same length of time at the end of the character and this will cause an equal rise in potential in the cable for each impulse and cause the said impulses, therefore, to be uniformly transmitted through the conductor to the receiving end where they will be received by a polarized relay which will respond to the polarized impulses to make and break the contacts necessary to operate charge effects the rise of potential of the succeeding impulses, but there being no residual charge in the first impulse or an 135 impulse that follows after a sufficient interval of time to allow the cable to be completely discharged, a higher rise of potential may be secured at the first impulse than at succeeding impulses and this would cause a distortion in the character or part of a character made at the beginning of a series. To overcome this I have provided means for varying the condition of the cable or compensating therefor and in this instance I have shown a relay (Z, which is operated from the relay 5, preferably through contacts I) and Z) on said relay, which cause the relay d to receive an impulse from the battery B every time said impulse is transmitted to the cut-off relay 0. The relay (Z, however, is not a polarized relay but is preferably provided with two sets of windings so that the impulses of different polarity will pass through the different windings and in opposite direc tions so that each impulse will have the same magnetic effect upon the relay to cause it to attract its armature al This relay (Z is so adjusted that it operates at a time interval after the transmitting relay 7) operates, but before the cut-ofi' relay 0 operates, and it is also a slow or sluggish relay, that is, it is'so constructed that it does not at once discharge its magnetism, but will hold its armature so long as it receives impulses in fairly rapid succession. With this arrangement and as shown in the circuits in Fig. 2 the armature b of the transmitting relay 6 is not connected directly to the conductor through wire 7, but is connected to the armature d of the relay d and a forward contact d is connected by wire 7* to the conductor so that by adjusting this relay d to cause it to operate at a very slight interval after the relay Z) is operated, the time interval of the first impulse impressed upon the cable will be slightly less than the succeeding impulse provided those impulses come along with sufficient rapidity to hold the relay d energized and maintain the circuit through wire 7, armature al contact 03 and wire 7 closed to the conductor or cable. Whenever the impulses, however, succeed each other in sufficiently slow succession to permit the armature (Z to drop back (which interval is adjusted to the time necessary for the cable to be discharged) the time interval of saidimpulse would be slightly less than where the intervals succeed each other with resistance is short circuited when the relay d operates. I have found that resistance may be dispensed with if the proper adjustment is made of the relay d and in this respect this circuit differs from those I have previously described.

I have also found in practice and in dealing with delicate currents and the rapidity of action necessary to telegraph at fairly high speed, that it is difficult to obtain a proper contact especially with the cut-off relay 0 where this relay not only cuts off the current for the conductor and the transmitting relay but also cuts off its own current, and I have, therefore, devised a special form of relay which is shown in Figs. 3 to 6 of the drawings, one of the said features of this relay being the construction of its armature with the double set of contacts, one of which forms the electrical contacts for cutting off the current and the other a stop for the armature the first contact being mounted on a flexible arm or extension which permits the armature to move slightly in either direction after the contact is made, thus securing a more perfect contact and also permitting a greater movement of the armature so that the same moves slightly before the made contact is broken while there is very slight movement between the breaking of one contact and the closing of the other.

In these said drawings, 6 represents a permanent magnet, preferably U or horseshoe shaped, upon the respective poles of which are mounted the coils and 6 The magnetic connections from the respective magnet poles is made through the cores 6 of said coils to poles, cap-s or extensions 6 and e, which support the adjustable pole pieces 6 and e", which are preferably screwthreaded in the pole caps e and 6 The armature 0 is preferably provided with a flexible extension 0 which .plays between the contacts 0 and 0 which contacts are supported in the ends of adjustable screws a mounted on a suitable support 6 insulated from the other parts of the relay. The armature c is preferably mounted on a long rod or pintle 0 which is supported in bearings c and c at its upper and lower extremities, which bearings are fixed to a vertical supporting device 6 extending from the permanent magnet e which forms the base of the relay; this supporte being of brass or other non-magnetic material. The armature c is further provided on either side with coil springs c and 0 one end of each of which is attached to the armature and the other end of each being attached to adjust-- able screws 0 and 0, whereby the tension on each of these coil springs can be adjusted; these coil springs being each arranged to operate against the other and in conjunction with the magnetic influence of one of the pole pieces 6 and .0 Arranged on each side of the armature are adjustable contacting stops 0 and c by means of which the travel of the armature, beyond the point necessary to make the contact at 0 or 0 is adjusted and regulated. If a relay of this character should be used for the transmitting relay, these adjustable stops 0 and 0 can carry the contacts 6 and b which operate the relay (Z in Fig. 2. These various adjustments of the pole pieces, the springs and the stops, together with the adjustable contacts and the flexible extension of the armature permit a very fine adjustment of the relay and permit the changing of the time interval thereof so that when this form of relay is used as a cut-off relay the inductive resistance which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be dispensed with and the adjustment of the time interval of the relay within certain limits be obtained through the adjustable features herein described. Also this particular form of contact with the auxiliary stops and the flexible extension on the armature prevents undue sparking and causes not only a positive but a very quick make-and-break contact and also a slight rubbing of the contacts which keeps the same at all times clean.

It will be understood, of course, that when the stops 0 and 0 are used to support the contacts 6 and If, those adjustable stops will be properly insulated from the other parts of the apparatus and the proper electrical connections made thereto.

1 Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a main battery, of a polarized transmitting relay and a polarized cut-off relay, a movable contacting device adapted to alternately engage contacts connected to the opposite poles of the battery, and a circuit from said contacting device to said transmitting relay to cause current of opposite polarity to be applied to said relay as said contacting device is connected to one pole of the battery or the other, contacts on said transmitting relay also connected to the opposite poles of said battery, and an armature playing between said con tacts and having an electrical connection to a cable or conductor by which current of opposite polarity is transmitted to said conductor as said transmitting relay is energized positively or negatively, a circuit for said cut-ofi relay, also controlled by said transmitting relay, and controlling means operated by said cut-off relay to cut off the current to said transmitting relay and also to the cable or conductor at a time interval after the transmitting relay has operated.

2. The combination with a main battery of a polarized cut-0E relay having contacts connected to the respective poles of said battery, and a grounded movable contact or armature operated bysaid cut-off relay to alternately ground the opposite sides of said battery, a transmitting relay having contacts connected to the opposite poles of said battery, and a movable contact or armature connected to a grounded cable or conductor and a connection from said transmitting armature to the cut-off relay to cause impulses of opposite polarity to be transmitted to said cut-oil relay at the same time they are impressed on the cable or conductor, and means to cause currents of op posite polarity to successively energize the transmitting relay whereby impulses of opposite polarity will be transmitted to the cable and to the cut-off relay, and means for adjusting'the cut-01f relay to cause it to operate at a time interval after the transmitting relay operates to cut-oft the current to the transmitting relay and thus to the cable and the cut-off relay itself, substantially as specified.

8. The combination with a main battery, of a movable contacting device adapted to alternately engage contacts connected to the respective poles of said battery, said contacting device being connected to a polarized transmitting relay and to ground, said polarized relay having an armature adapted to engage alternately contacts also connected to the respective poles of said battery and the armature of said polarized relay being connected to a cable or conductor and also to a polarized cut off relay and to ground, said cut-ofi' relay having a grounded armature adapted to alternately engage contacts connected to the opposite poles of the battery and means to cause said cut-off relay to operate at a certain definite time interval after the transmitting relay has operated whereby a movement of said contacting device in one direction causes an impulse of current from said battery of one polarity to operate said polarized transmitting relay and by its operation to impress an impulse of one polarity to a conductor and to the cut-oif relay and automatically cut-off the current supply both to the transmitting relay and to the conductor independent of the position igfdthe primary contacting device as speci- 4. The combination with a sending device, the transmitting relay and cut-0E relay and the battery circuits as described of a slow or sluggish relay operated by said transmitting relay and a normally open connection between said transmitting relay and a conductor and a circuit closer to close said connection when said slow relay is operated whereby the time interval for the first of a series of impulses is reduced to compensate for any lack of residual charge in the conductor, as specified.

5. The combination with a source of current, of a polarized transmitting relay and a cut-0E relay interconnected so that the cutoff relay will cut off the current to the transmitting relay and to itself at the sametime, the said cut-01f relay being provided with a movable armature with a flexible extension, the contacts being formed on said extension, and stops on opposite sides of the armature to cause the extension to be deflected in opposite directions at each contact, and means for adjusting the stops.

6. In combination, a transmitting relay, and a out 05 relay interconnected and interdependent so that the cut-ofi relay cuts ofi the current for the transmitting relay and to itself, said cut-off relay having a vibrating armature, and adjustable poles on each side thereof, and adjustable springs operating in connection with a magnetic pull of each of said pole pieces and on opposite sides of said armatures, and means for adjusting the springs.

7 The combination of a transmitting and a cut-off relay interconnected so that the cut-oii' relay cuts off the current for the transmitting relay and itself at the same time, said cut-off relay having a permanent magnet forming a base, coils supported on the opposite poles of said magnet with the cores of said coil in magnetic connection to the poles of the magnet, movable pole extensions supported on the pole pieces, a pivoted armature formed with a substantially rigid body, and a flexible extension, adjustable stops on the opposite sides of the rigid body, and contacts on the opposite sides of the extension, means for adjusting said pole pieces, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

8. The combination with a main battery, of a polarized transmitting relay, and a cutoff relay, said transmitting relay being adapted by its operations to connect the opposite poles of said battery successively to a conductor or cable and to the cut-off relay to cause current impulses of opposite polarity to be transmitted to said conductor" and said cut-off relay, electrical connections between said transmitting relay and said cut-ofi' relay whereby the cut-off relay is op erated by said transmitting relay and the operation of said cut-off relay cuts off the current supply to said transmitting relay and itself at the same time.

9. The combination with a sending device, a transmitting relay, a cut-off relay and battery circuits therefor, of a slow or sluggish relay operated by said transmitting relay, contacts controlled by said relay in connection with the main cable circuit, said sluggish relay having differential windings, said windings being connected so as to re ceive impulses of opposite polarity from said cut-oli relay so that said impulses will produce the same magnetic effect in the relay.

10. The combination in a telegraph circuit, of means for sending impulses of opposite polarity into said circuit, and a sluggish relay connected to said means so as to receive said impulses of opposite polarity, means controlled by said relay for opening and closing another circuit also adapted to receive said impulses, said relay having differential windings which are connected in its circuit so that the impulses of opposite polarity produce the same magnetic effect in the relay.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of April, 1915.

WILLIAM M. BRUCE, JR.

Witness CHAs. I. WELoH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G. 

